Egg donation, embryo donation, surrogacy

Sperm donation is permitted in Germany, but egg donation is prohibited. For example, women who no longer have their own fertile eggs after cancer treatment are currently unable to become pregnant. Heterosexual couples in which the man has no fertile sperm, on the other hand, can make use of sperm donation. This unequal treatment is difficult to justify, say the authors of the statement.

Due to the legal situation, many couples feel compelled to make use of egg donation abroad. There, anonymous donation is often practised, which denies the child the constitutional right to know its parentage. In this respect, the ban on egg donation in Germany indirectly impairs the child's welfare.

Egg donation was banned in particular with the argument of "split motherhood": there is a fear of harm to the child, as the social mother who gives birth is not the genetic mother. This concern has since been refuted by research abroad. Egg retrieval is also much gentler today than it was 30 years ago. However, appropriate legal regulations would be necessary to prevent the commercialisation of egg donation.

Embryo donation is not regulated in Germany. It would provide an opportunity to make so-called surplus embryos from artificial fertilisation available to other couples rather than discarding them. This can be helpful, for example, if a couple has neither their own eggs nor their own sperm available. The Embryo Protection Act clearly prohibits the deliberate creation of embryos for the purpose of donation.

The rights and obligations of donor and recipient parents should be clarified as part of the legal regulation of embryo donation. In Germany, every child also has the right to know its biological origin. It must therefore be ensured that the child can later have access to the data of the donor parents.

Family formation with the help of a surrogate mother is the most complex constellation - and the most controversial. Here, a woman carries a child on behalf of a couple or a single person who wishes to have a child. Surrogacy currently takes place in various countries. However, it is criticised for often exploiting social inequalities between intended parents and surrogate mothers.

Legalising surrogacy in Germany would raise a whole range of questions: How would it be ensured that the women are not pressurised by the intended parents? What happens if surrogate mothers do not want to give up the child after birth? What rights do they have? Would there even be acceptable framework conditions? In any case, there is a need for regulation for children born abroad to a surrogate mother but growing up in Germany.

In the interests of the child's welfare, children who are legally born abroad to a surrogate mother under local law but grow up in Germany should be able to be legally assigned to the intended parents, as numerous legal consequences such as parental custody, maintenance claims and nationality depend on this.

Medical and psychosocial counselling on the problems of surrogacy offered and carried out in Germany should not be punishable by law.